Attacking Rony Gandeza - Part 1

Rony Gandeza is an operations director for Teleperformance, one of the largest BPO companies in the country.

For the past year, I have noticed his posts being shared on my feed.

Rony shares practical and actionable advice on how to improve your life.

He doesn’t seem to have a blog or a public Facebook page, instead, he just uses his personal Facebook profile to host his written thoughts and sets his tiny blog posts to public.

He seems to be speaking to an audience of BPO workers, young professionals and aspiring call center agents.

I noticed that his words are followed by people I looked up to.

I like his posts and point of view.

He was popular for “Apologizing to Manny Pacquiao” and specifies how “Many Filipinos Act Like Pigs.”

I regret not being able to read all of posts because I believe there is so much to learn from the man.

There’s not a lot of Filipino BPO workers sharing ideas on how to advance and the fact that he’s not a professional blogger or a YouTuber but an actual person who advanced from an entry level post to a management role makes his topics a breath of fresh air.

He encourages people to stay disciplined and sometimes consider the management point of view so they can qualify for advancement.

He also began posting videos to expand the range of his content.

A few days ago, he received thousands of abusive comments from several Filipinos who “missed the point” about a story that he shared on a video.

Several of the bashers even went as far as doxxed him and attempted to defame him by going after his employers.

I’m going to tell the story and I’m going to share different points of view to consider.

I listened to the video again and again, to see if it was I who missed the point.

I almost transcribed the video to make sure I got all the important details.

Story follows…

The Interview Story:

Rony was assigned to conduct a final interview for an applicant for a senior management position.

It was casual Friday, he was just wearing jeans and a tshirt.

He waited for the person to arrive at the lobby/waiting area and started a conversation.

The applicant arrives wearing a coat and tie, dressed to impress.

He didn’t introduce himself yet.

He asked if the person was an applicant.

The applicant said yes without looking at him.

The applicant was just looking straight at the wall.

He asked the applicant what position he was applying for.

The applicant said “I’m applying for a senior management role” while directly looking ahead.

He then asked the applicant what school he came from in order to start a natural conversation.

The applicant said the name of his very prestigious school without looking at Rony.

The applicant answered three questions without looking at the Rony.

Not even once.

The applicant then stood up and went to the other side of the couch and pulled up a magazine and covered his face.

This is a classic “shut up and don’t talk to me position.”

Rony finally found the applicant rude so he then moved toward the applicant and introduced himself.

He said his name, his title and informed the guy that he’ll conduct the final interview.

The applicant was shocked because he was rude to the wrong person.

Rony described the applicant’s face turning red.

They then had the interview.

The usual conversation ensues.

The applicant discusses his background and experience.

The applicant discusses his analytical skills.

The applicant is impressive and he also has a full American accent.

On paper and during the interview, the applicant is “fit for the role.”

That’s not everything that you need to fulfill during the job hunting process.

Rony asked a question that I’ve encountered when I applied for several sales positions.

“How determined are you to get this position?”

The applicant said he’s really determined.

So he’s asked “Are you willing to sing just to get the position? “

The applicant said “yes.”

The applicant sang and dance at the production floor like a good sport.

Rony asked two more questions. I’m curious what these are.

After the applicant left, Rony began to think if he will hire the guy or not.

Rony decided not to.

Rony later discussed how the incident in the lobby is a big consideration because what stuck is how the applicant treated people whom he perceives as having no authority.

He later explains how it’s easy to be nice to your boss and discuss different leadership principles.

The lesson that stood out is how it is important to factor in the character of the person.

“Our character is revealed by how we mistreat the people we are allowed to mistreat.” - David Sedaris

He described the applicant as a good looking guy who came from a nice school and has a masters degree in management with very impressive credentials.

I suspect he used this as a story telling technique to help the audience picture the applicant.

Several Filipino netizens reacted negatively.

It appears that all people remembered was that the applicant is “good looking” and he was “given a difficult time” during the interview and was eventually rejected.

Observations.

The applicant appears to be a good hire “on paper” based on the story.

There are several reasons why a manager will not hire someone for a role.

There are factors like culture fit, personality fit, teamwork and so on.

It’s a hiring manager’s job to screen out applicants for the job and select the best.

One consideration is if there’s a job opening for a business need, there are always several applicants lined up.

If this good looking senior management applicant who graduated from a good school did not get hired, then chances are, the company selected someone else.

They either hired another job applicant or they promoted someone.

Managers understand that in a selection, the company should always select the best applicant.

If a hiring manager has any doubts about hiring an applicant, the hiring manager should NOT hire a job applicant.

Rony treated the applicant fairly as he still allowed the final interview to proceed as normal.

As someone how has experience hiring and paying people out of my pocket, giving the wrong person a chance is a very expensive mistake.